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Monday, January 30, 2012

My friends know me and my bird obsession all to well and spoilt me with this set of funky black velvet flying birds from Typo. I was let in on a secret that they were in the sale bin for only $3 a set - how can you say no to that!

After much debate I finally decided where to hang them - in the laundry

The birds add a bit of fun to this little beige corner of the house, what do you think?

If only I knew how to get my hands on one of these beauties, but then I'd have to make a decision and pick one! Hmmmm I am drawn to the quirkiness of the second photo the fish in a cage. What about you?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons was my November Book Club read that I only just finished this month, yep 2 months later which was a big fat fail on the homework there! I honesty think I read it so slowly because I didn't want it to end - yep it was that good. I went to the Book Club meet up and had to cover my ears so I didn't hear the ending but at least I got a heads up on all the sex scenes that were coming up!

The Bronze Horseman is written in 1941 wartime when Hitler invades Russia, it shows the cold harshness of the war and how the rations killed so many people through starvation. It is also one beautiful love story about unattainable love, between the innocent Tatiana and the handsome soldier Alexander. It is a powerful love story with just the right about of sex, romance, desire, more sex, to keep you reading it with a beating heart and fighting off the tears all the way to the end.

This book is a sequel with a few more books to read in the series. There are also rumours of it being turned into a movie.

I would recommend this book to everyone, not just the romantics, but also the cynics because this book will move you I guarantee, its a very powerful read. I give this book 5 stars - sorry Johnny I'd rather a date with Alexander than you this time!

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

Saturday, January 21, 2012

My bachelorette pad has been up for sale for a couple of months and the market is not looking good in Western Australia people just don't seem to want to buy - there was a marketing campaign by a great real estate company, home opens every weekend, all that time and effort and there was only 1 offer. So I've decided to keep it and rent it out but I want a new plan - not just a basic rental but I've been toying with the idea of furnishing it to claim a higher rent return and it would be a fun project to furnish the bedrooms, living area, dining area and balcony.

You can get some good furniture packages and I could source some of the furniture second hand from Gumtree or somewhere like that. I have some pieces I could put in there that don't fit in the Jarrah Jungle. But I don't want it to look to bitsa, I want it to look modern and attract some swish city dwellers. Hmmmmm just an idea ...

This is a gorgeous coffee table book the images are large and clear, fantastic photography, I found myself staring at each page for ages taking it all in. Katie's look is all class and sophistication.

The book is set out room by room with a blurb before each about how Katie would style and design them and then lots of photos to make you drool. The way the book is written is describing Katie's rooms with words like 'she' and 'her rooms' which I found a bit unusual at first them talking about her rooms, instead of her describing them herself, its a different angle of writing.

I would recommend this book for those that love the finer things in life

I give this book 4 stars - I may be overloaded on chocolate from Christmas but I think its more that I'm in love with the devine photography

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

Saturday, January 7, 2012

As we kick into a new year I've been thinking back on how much we've done at home aka in the Jarrah Jungle in 2011 as we continue to turn our 1960s renovators delight house into a home. Here's my top 10 projects for 2011 in no particular order, although if I had to pick I'd say No.5 the shoe cupboard is pretty high on my dreams coming true list :)

1. Living Room Renovated - This room renovation was a huge 2 month job - we removed the air conditioner, lifted the ceiling, restored the floorboards, painted a media wall and everything else, bought a new rug, leather couches and coffee table which you can read more about here

After

2. Outdoor Dining Area - I made the executive decision to move our dining area outside under the patio to allow for french doors to be installed to go out onto the deck (a project for 2012). We bought a new 8 seater outdoor dining setting and we hosted a dinner party outside with great success which you can see more of here and no doubt more of those to come in 2012!

After

3. My Bar Fish Tank - With the dining area cleared away we moved the wine buffet into the dining area against the wall and the fish tank on top and I then had fun sourcing bar accessories for the fish tank and set it up with a bar theme, you can see more of my aquascaping here

After

4. Man Cave Renovated - The 4th and final bedroom was renovated, floorboards restored, everything painted, bought a recliner couch, rugs and new blinds which you can see more before and afters here. As the name suggests I haven't been allowed to decorate this room and besides the furniture its looking pretty plain so enough is enough - time to get my hands on this room and get it finished!

Still in progress

5. Install a shoe cupboard and have my Carrie Bradshaw dreams come true - I converted the hallway cupboard to a shoe cupboard with shelving so I can see my shoes at a glance and pick the right shoe with the right outfit each time. Yes I'm a very lucky girl!

After

6. Customised The Hallway Cupboards With Wallpaper and New Handles - The awesome buy we found in Amsterdam of rolls of wallpaper for $5 euros a roll was put to good use on the hallway cupboards which got a face lift with the wallpaper and new handles

After

7. Black and White Photo Wall Put up in Hallway - After picking out my favourite photos and printing them in black & white and collecting enough black frames I hung up a wall of photos and I intend to add to this wall in 2012

After

8. Backyard Pimping - Veggie and Herb Gardens and Lawn- The backyard was in desperate need of some attention and we cleared the weeds and set up some garden beds for a vegetable and herb garden beds. I'm growing tomatoes, leek, spring onion, carrots, rocket, garlic chives, lettuce, sage, coriander, parsley and basil. We also had an epic lawn laying weekend and laid about 70m2 of lawn in the backyard which is growing really well despite the hot summer sun.

In Progress

9. Art for Master Bedroom - I found some retro art prints which I framed for the master bedroom and you can read more about it here

Friday, January 6, 2012

I was crazy enough to visit Ikea this week, yes on school holidays, and in the midst of the January sales. That place does it to me everytime I walk in and before I know it 3 hours has gone by and I have a trolley full of items to try to fit into my car boot!

I paid just under $130 for all this stuff and everything was on sale except for the retro ssshh print and white pot plant holders. They don't call me the bargain queen for nothing :)

The white pot plant holders I had on my Ikea wish list from last time I went but they were sold out so I was happy they were in stock this time and happy to pay full price for them which was only $4.95, now I just need to decide what to use them for I've seen some really cool ideas

This black vase was a steal at $9.95 (was $50) but having no flowers to put in it, I turned it upside down and thought it would make a cool side table in the man cave. Perfect for a beer or magic eight ball to sit on!

Welcome to Jarrah Jungle, a blog about the adventures of renovating a 1960s house and turning it into a home. This is my place to share all things homely, DIY, decorating, recipes and entertaining. When I’m not renovating I write regular book reviews and travel musings. Thanks for stopping by!

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